NaNoWriMo Update: Why Nano?

Happy seventh day of Nano, everyone! I hope everyone is working hard and writing well. (If you’re new here and don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, check out my previous blog post about it here!)

Just a quick update on how Between the Lines is coming along: It’s going great! I hit 10k a few days ago and I’m ahead of where I need to be at about 13.5k words. Because of the launch of The Scavenger, I’m not sure how much more I’ll be able to write this coming week, but I’m going to try my best to keep up the good work!

As NaNo continues, a lot of people who have either heard about it or have seen me in the process of writing have asked me: Why do this? Why put yourself through a hectic month of writing when you’re not even going to get a polished novel out of it? Well, everyone does NaNo for a different reason. Some use it as motivation and inspiration to get that novel idea onto paper, some use it to hone their writing skills while meeting new people. I participate in NaNo for a different reason.

Every writer has that dreaded inner-editor. This voice in our head can completely bring our train of thought to a halt over one word or phrase that we can’t get quite right. We can spend hours trying to perfect that one part of our manuscript that, in the long run, isn’t that important to the plot. Many people put off writing their first draft because it’s one of the most difficult parts of the writing process. Getting all of those bent and convoluted plot-lines onto paper is no easy task, made even more difficult by the voice in our head that whispers, “That’s not how it should sound.” But do not fear — NaNo can help!

I use NaNoWriMo to practice shutting down my inner-editor. There are some moments when it’s good to catch those spelling and grammatical errors, but other times you need to shove it aside and just get those words onto paper. Throughout NaNo, I practice turning off my inner-editor and simply focusing on getting those words down as fast as possible. It’s not pretty and usually there are mistakes but, at the end of the day, I have a first draft that I can then work with and revise. This skill that I, and many others, are learning can then be applied as we continue writing in the future. It’s important to know how to shut down the things that inhibit us while writing so we can power through.

NaNoWriMo isn’t for everyone. Some people don’t write the best in timed or stressful situations, and that’s okay. But for those involved it’s a great time to make connections with writers around the world while getting that much-needed story onto paper.